The joys of second home ownership

OK, the first post from Greece seemed to work, let's try another one!

We have been engrossed in bringing the Sifnos house to our standard. After having worked feverishly to get the Berkeley home 'hotel' ready for tenants, my last interest is to do the same all over again for the Sifnos house, working with a less well developed or maintained property. Nevertheless, this is the situation in which we have placed ourselves. On the bright side, the house is in great shape, if dusty, and smelling of such, from months of not being in use.

However, last year’s landscaping investment has been a disheartening disaster. It requires further investment -- in which direction is not an easy choice. Where lacerating winds and gnawing goats left off, wilderness has taken over. Amongst the many exotic (to me) weeds is one beautiful surprise: a bright red flowered plant has invaded with a grand display.

A week ago we had a problem with an intermittent internet connection. As is true of many house-related things, it was climate and construction style to blame for the loss of quality internet access. OTE, the Greek government and Deutsch Telecom owned phone co., was surprisingly responsive to Gerhard's visit to the local office, sending 2 techs the next day. They proved that the problem was not theirs, but rather the lines into the house from their roadside junction box. Gerhard, the tech whiz that he is, knew to ask them for gel capsule connectors and they stuffed what they could grasp into his hand. Despite language barriers, I think they warmed up to him quickly, recognizing his expertise and self-help attitude, thus were more helpful than reputed. Sure enough, when Gerhard lifted the concrete sealed block that protects the underground cavity in which the connectors sit, he found that moisture had corroded 2 of the capsules. Once replaced, everything was fine. So, while no money was required, time cost was pretty high. I can't even imagine what it would have taken if Gerhard and his knowledge were not available. There is nothing we can do about the construction approach, so we now know to keep these capsules on hand for the next time.

I could tell similar stories about repairs to the refrigerator, satellite television system, water filtration system, and washing machine. We are on guard for 'what's next'.